Jumppanen concert includes two U.S. premieres

Finnish pianist Paavali Jumppanen will perform in concert Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rooke Recital Hall of the Weis Music Building at Bucknell University.

The program includes "Piano Pieces" by Sibelius, "Preludes" by Debussy and "Carnaval, Op. 9" by Schumann.

A highlight of the concert is the U.S. premieres of two works by Finnish composers Perttu Haapanen and Jaakko Kuusisto.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Jumppanen first performed in Bucknell's Weis Center as winner of the Pennsylvania Presenters Prize at the 2000 Young Concert Artists International Competition in New York City, where he was awarded a First Prize among others. He has returned to the Bucknell campus several times, performing with the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and violinist Corey Cerovsek as well as in numerous solo concerts and with several artists as artist-in-residence.

Winner of the first prize in Finland's national Maj Lind Competition in Helsinki at age 19, Jumppanen made his New York concerto debut in 2001 at the 92nd Street Y, presented by Young Concert Artists. He has since toured extensively in the U.S., performing at the Kennedy Center and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where he has, since his debut concert in 2001, performed frequently. His New York appearances have included performances at the Metropolitan Museum, Morgan Library and at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall. In 2002, he made his New York concerto debut with the New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz at Alice Tully Hall.

During the 2014-15 season, the pianist will return to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston to continue a two-year project focusing on works by Schumann and Stockhausen begun in the spring 2014. He also will perform as a soloist in the Fourth Piano Concerto of Beethoven on a national tour with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as perform recitals in Switzerland and Australia.

Jumppanen was born in 1974 in Espoo, where at the age of 5, he began piano lessons at the Music Institute. He has become regular soloist of many of Finland's leading orchestras, frequently appearing with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Lahti Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed extensively in Europe, Japan and Australia, appearing with the Melbourne Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Stuttgart Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra as well as appearances at numerous festivals including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland and the La Roque d'Anthéron Festival in France.

In 2015 he will begin serving as the artistic director to PianoEspoo festival, the most prominent international piano festival in his native Finland.